Durable Flooring For Your Home

Laminate Vs. Engineered

Last edited on April 30, 2009

As we stated earlier trying to use natural hardwood flooring in your home is not always possible for many people because of the high price it takes to purchase it and the amount of work that it needs to be maintained properly. Water and heat can easily damage the flooring and require you to redo all of the flooring costing you thousands of dollars.

However, engineered hardwood flooring is not the only substitute that people will often turn to. A good deal of people will think hard between laminate and engineered flooring to decide which is the better and easier choice for them to use in their home. In order to best make this decision you have to know the difference between the two.

Laminate hardwood flooring is made up of high density fiber. The surface of the flooring has the appearance of hardwoods and is usually around 3/8” thick. Engineered hardwood flooring is made up of high density fiber, hardwood, or plywood. There are several core layers of this material that help to make it durable and on the surface is a hardwood veneer. Because of the many different materials used and the amount of layers it has it is much stronger and able to last longer then laminate flooring.

As you can see the engineered flooring and the way that it is made is much more durable and stronger. This makes it able to withstand almost anything and with a bit of cleaning it can last for years. Laminate hardwood flooring can be scuffed or even ripped easily. Though they are easy to maintain they may not last you as long. You can easily replace them – but do you want the hassle of replacing them every few years?

Laminate is obviously cheaper to purchase then engineered flooring and it is easy to install. All you have to do is lock the pieces together to the floor. This also allows you to pull it up easily whenever you need a change. Installing engineered flooring is slightly more complicated – but it will last for many years and is able to withstand more damage and wear and tear from your family.